For the first time since 2021, the Mountaineer Football team returned to the Mountaineer Bowl on Saturday, September 7th. After two years of construction, the renamed Mountaineer Bowl at the Rady Family Sports Complex opened its doors for the first time. Not only was this Mountaineer football’s home and season opener, it was the first game under lights in Western Colorado University history.
The stadium started construction in the summer of 2022, expecting completion by the fall of 2023. After many setbacks, including a very cold winter, the stadium renovation was not completed until the fall of 2024. The 2022 and 2023 seasons were played on the Katy O’Rady soccer field, which overlooked the construction site. The team made the playoffs last year, and Western hosted the first game. Since the soccer field was not a regulation football field, the decision was made by the athletics department to play the game in the unfinished Mountaineer Bowl. This year Mountaineer football fans were ready to break in the new stadium and experience the first game under the lights in Western history.
Not only was this Mountaineer football’s home and season opener, it was the first game under lights in Western Colorado University history.
Along with the new press box, locker rooms, and much more, the renovations included the installation of new lights for the stadium, which the original Mountaineer Bowl did not have. The school can host football games at night for the first time in Western history. Which is why the September 7th game against Midwestern State was such a big deal for Western students, faculty, and alumni.
“It was cool to play under the lights for the first time,” senior long snapper Zac Heaton said later. “It took me back to high school because that was the last time I was able to play a night game. The atmosphere of not only being able to play under the lights but also having so many people show up was amazing. Overall it was an amazing experience.”
The attendance broke a school record at 2,603, breaking the previous record of 2,589 set in 2014. The Western community wanted to be a part of history. The pre-game festivities included a ribbon cutting for the new stadium, attended by university president Brad Baca; the former interim president who kicked off the stadium renovation, Nancy Chisom; the Gunnison Mayor, Diego Plata, and Paul Rady, the stadium construction’s biggest donor, who was gifted a helmet signed by the players and coaches. After the ribbon cutting, fans were let into the completed stadium for the first time.
The game kicked off at 6 pm with Western taking an early lead over Midwestern State, scoring a touchdown in the first three minutes. The score at the end of the first quarter was 14-10. The second quarter started strong with the sun setting over the new stadium, and the lights slowly being brought up on the field. As the second quarter went on Western fell behind by three as Midwestern State took over, 24-21. The halftime festivities began, starting with a performance by the Western Drumline, and the Western Colorado Cheerleading team following. The lights were almost fully on at this point, illuminating the new turf field. As halftime ended and the third quarter began, the stadium was fully under lights, which were so bright students said they could see them as far as the student apartments on campus. At the beginning of the third quarter, Western scored another touchdown, bringing them back into the lead of 28-24.
At night, when the lights are on, there is a special lighting effect for when Western scores a touchdown. The lights dim and flash white and red to the beat of a song. Not even 12 seconds later, Western scored again, making it 35-24. With the third quarter quickly coming to an end, Western kicked a 17-yard field goal, leading Midwestern State into a field goal as well, bringing the score at the end of the third quarter to 38-27.
In the game’s final moments, Midwestern State scored one last touchdown. The final score of Western’s first game under the lights was a win, 38-33. The fans were ecstatic, with cheers being heard as far away as the Pinnacles apartments. Kids high-fived players as they headed into the locker room.
For some players, this will be their only season to play in the newly renovated stadium. This season there are 11 seniors on the team, seven of whom began their collegiate career at Western as freshmen in 2019 or 2020, being faced with missing out on playing one or two seasons in the original Mountaineer Bowl. While some will take another year of eligibility, four will graduate this coming fall or spring.
“As a senior, it was cool to see how things have developed since my freshman year,” senior Zac Heaton said. “Seeing what the Bowl has become and how we have moved as a program has been awesome. Watching it be built for two years and then finally getting to play in it, especially as a senior was very special.”
The bowl will also be used for other events, such as graduations. This year it will be used to hold the class of 2025’s graduation in May. Last year, the class of 2024 graduated from the Mountaineer Bowl, the first graduation in the Bowl since the class of 2022. There’s a saying here at Western, “Start in the Bowl, End in the Bowl.” For the class of 2025, that saying will hold, since they were the last class to begin orientation in the Mountaineer Bowl. But for both the classes of 2026 and 2027, the bowl was under construction, so they started in the Mountaineer Field House.
“Even though my Western journey started in the Mountaineer Field House,” Junior Haylee Downare said, “I’m excited to graduate out of the bowl. I think it’ll be a really good end to a great time here at Western.”
Catch the Mountaineers on home turf this Saturday as they face off against the Fort Lewis Sky Hawks. This is Mountaineer Football’s last night game of the season and family weekend here at Western, so bring your friends and family for what’s sure to be a great game under the lights for the last time this season!
